Here you won't find the pages of a pedantic journal, praises to fantastic places or accounts of memorable encounters. This is a collection of stories, thoughts, images, and most of all odd stuff, even though to someone else it might actually look ordinary. To discern its bizarre side, in fact, special filters are needed: cynicism, fussiness, stubbornness, isolation, impudence, nosiness and nerdiness. All flaws that, in different measure, this semi-nomadic being has got embedded in his genes.

Friday, February 17, 2012

Why do we travel?

Opposite types of tourists (or travelers?) that I'd rather not meet: those who travel the world to prove (most of all to themselves) that their country is the best there is, without even giving a chance to the place they are visiting, and the ones who often love any country they come across better than their own, even though the filth, violence, greediness, racism, corruption, poverty and injustice they might find there are things they would never tolerate at home.Lack of balance and intellectual honesty apart...what a huge waste of resources! If they have already made up their minds, why don't they just stay in the place that was awarded their prize before the contest even took place, enjoying the case-hardened clarity of their opinions, by doing so saving lots of time as well as the money of the flights, the hotels, the restaurants, the tours and the guides? Besides the confirmation of our expectations, shouldn't we also find in travels the pleasure of discovery?